Planning panel must work fast

The citizens advisory group appointed Wednesday by the Kootenai County Commission has only one month to hash out a better proposal for how to divide and classify land in the county.

“We’ll make every effort to give those 12 people what they need to make a successful document,” Commissioner Gus Johnson said, but added all the work must be done by Nov. 29.

That will give the county time to publish any changes suggested by the advisory committee before the county commission makes a final decision Dec. 15.

The commission is adamant that both the new drafts of the subdivision and zoning laws are finished by Jan. 1, when newly elected Commissioner Katie Brodie will replace Commission Chairman Dick Panabaker.

The commission agreed to appoint the advisory group, mostly out of frustration, after a rare combination of environmentalists, builders and land developers accused the county of not involving the public in the drafting of these two laws. The county has been working for more than a year to revise the laws and has had numerous public meetings on the rules that would determine how many home people can build in transition areas between rural and urban zones and if developers can put houses on the area’s steep hillsides.

The groups, who normally don’t agree on much, are insistent that they can come to a consensus that will result in more acceptable changes to the two laws that govern how land is classified and divided. Some concerns with the current drafts include a fear the rules would encourage more development sprawl that eats up rural areas and inflate housing costs.

The group will include North Idaho Building Contractors Association members Pat Raffee and Bill Radobenko along with Tom Torgerson of the local board of Realtors.

Mike Piper and Carol Sebastian will be the Kootenai Environmental Alliance representatives and Joyce Bergen will represent the League of Women Voters of Kootenai County.

Post Falls Highway District Commissioner Terry Werner will represent the local highway districts and the County Commission selected Dee Jameson and Claudia Agate as the two public-at-large members.

Planning Commission Chairman Mark Triplett also will sit on the advisory committee along with two other planning commission members that haven’t been selected yet.

Commissioners David Weinstein, Dan Green and Keith Dixon are possible choices.

The group’s first meeting is Oct. 25 at the Kootenai County Administration Building, 451 Government Way.

Local attorney Jerry Mason has agreed to facilitate the meetings at no cost to the county or the represented groups even though NIBCA had offered to cover Mason’s fee.

Mason will determine when and how often the group will meet.

All the meetings are open to the public but the audience won’t be allowed to ask questions or comment, Panabaker said.

For more information, call the Kootenai County Planning Office at 446-1070.